The Health Benefits of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids a Review of the Evidence
The man trunk can make well-nigh of the types of fats information technology needs from other fats or raw materials. That isn't the case for omega-3 fatty acids (as well called omega-3 fats and n-3 fats). These are essential fats—the body tin't make them from scratch but must get them from food. Foods high in Omega-three include fish, vegetable oils, nuts (especially walnuts), flax seeds, flaxseed oil, and leafy vegetables.
What makes omega-iii fats special? They are an integral part of jail cell membranes throughout the body and touch on the office of the cell receptors in these membranes. They provide the starting point for making hormones that regulate claret clotting, wrinkle and relaxation of artery walls, and inflammation. They also bind to receptors in cells that regulate genetic function. Likely due to these effects, omega-3 fats have been shown to help prevent middle illness and stroke, may help control lupus, eczema, and rheumatoid arthritis, and may play protective roles in cancer and other conditions.
Omega-iii fats are a cardinal family of polyunsaturated fats. At that place are iii main omega-3s:
- Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) come mainly from fish, so they are sometimes called marine omega-3s.
- Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the most mutual omega-3 fat acid in most Western diets, is constitute in vegetable oils and nuts (particularly walnuts), flax seeds and flaxseed oil, leafy vegetables, and some fauna fatty, especially in grass-fed animals. The human body generally uses ALA for energy, and conversion into EPA and DHA is very express.
The strongest show for a beneficial event of omega-iii fats has to do with heart disease. These fats announced to assist the heart beat out at a steady prune and not veer into a dangerous or potentially fatal erratic rhythm. (1) Such arrhythmias crusade most of the 500,000-plus cardiac deaths that occur each year in the Us. Omega-three fats also lower claret pressure and heart rate, amend blood vessel function, and, at higher doses, lower triglycerides and may ease inflammation, which plays a role in the development of atherosclerosis. (1)
Several large trials have evaluated the effect of fish or fish oils on middle disease. In the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto Miocardio (known as the GISSI Prevention Trial), heart attack survivors who took a 1-gram capsule of omega-three fats every day for three years were less likely to have a repeat middle attack, stroke, or die of sudden death than those who took a placebo. (2) Notably, the take chances of sudden cardiac death was reduced past near 50 percent. In the more recent Japan EPA Lipid Intervention Study (JELIS), participants who took EPA plus a cholesterol-lowering statin were less likely to take a major coronary event (sudden cardiac decease, fatal or nonfatal heart assault, unstable angina, or a procedure to open or featherbed a narrowed or blocked coronary avenue) than those who took a statin alone. (iii)
Most Americans take in far more of another essential fat—omega-6 fats—than they do omega-3 fats. Some experts have raised the hypothesis that this higher intake of omega-6 fats could pose problems, cardiovascular and otherwise, but this has non been supported past show in humans. (4) In the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, for example, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats wasn't linked with risk of heart disease because both of these were beneficial. (v) Many other studies and trials in humans also support cardiovascular benefits of omega-vi fats. Although there is no question that many Americans could benefit from increasing their intake of omega-3 fats, there is evidence that omega-six fats also positively influence cardiovascular gamble factors and reduce heart disease.
Researchers are taking a hard expect at a different sort of balance, this i betwixt possible furnishings of marine and found omega-iii fats on prostate cancer. Results from the Wellness Professionals Follow-upward Written report and others bear witness that men whose diets are rich in EPA and DHA (mainly from fish and seafood) are less likely to develop advanced prostate cancer than those with low intake of EPA and DHA. (six) At the same time, some-merely not all-studies show an increment in prostate cancer and advanced prostate cancer amidst men with high intakes of ALA (mainly from supplements). However, this effect is inconsistent. In the very big Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, for example, there was no link betwixt ALA intake and early, late, or avant-garde prostate cancer. (7)
Recipes for wellness
Given the broad-ranging importance and benefits of marine omega-3 fatty acids, information technology is important to eat fish or other seafood one to two times per week, particularly fatty (dark meat) fish that are richer in EPA and DHA. This is especially important for women who are pregnant or hoping to become meaning and nursing mothers. From the 3rd trimester until the second year of life, a developing child needs a steady supply of DHA to class the encephalon and other parts of the nervous arrangement. Many women shy away from eating fish because of concerns that mercury and other possible contaminants might damage their babies, (nine) yet the testify for impairment from lack of omega-3 fats is far more than consistent, and a balance of do good vs. hazard is easily obtained. (To learn more about the controversy over contaminants in fatty fish, read Fish: Friend or Foe.)
This table lists common fish and seafood products and their omega-3 fatty acrid content.
| Blazon of Seafood | Serving Size | Omega-3 Fatty Acids (mg/serving) |
| Anchovy | 2.0 oz | 1,200 |
| Catfish (farmed) | 5.0 oz | 253 |
| Clams | 3.0 oz | 241 |
| Cod (Atlantic) | 6.3 oz | 284 |
| Crab | 3.0 oz | 351 |
| Fish sticks (frozen) | 3.2 oz | 193 |
| Halibut | 5.6 oz | 740 |
| Lobster | 3.0 oz | 71 |
| Mahi mahi | 5.six oz | 221 |
| Mussels | 3.0 oz | 665 |
| Oysters | 3.0 oz | 585 |
| Pollock (Alaskan) | 2.1 oz | 281 |
| Salmon (wild) | 6.0 oz | one,774 |
| Salmon (farmed) | six.0 oz | 4,504 |
| Sardines | 2.0 oz | 556 |
| Scallops | three.0 oz | 310 |
| Shrimp | 3.0 oz | 267 |
| Swordfish* | 3.7 oz | 868 |
| Trout | 2.2 oz | 581 |
| Tuna (albacore)** | three.0 oz | 733 |
| Tuna (light, skipjack) | iii.0 oz | 228 |
SOURCE: Mozaffarian D, Rimm EB. JAMA. 2006;296:1885-1899.
*Swordfish contains loftier levels of mercury, as does shark, male monarch mackerel, and tilefish (sometimes chosen golden bass or gilded snapper). Women who are or may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and immature children should avoid these high-mercury species of fish, just tin swallow up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
**Albacore tuna contains more mercury than canned, light tuna. Women who are or may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children should limit albacore tuna to one serving per week.
References
1. Leafage A. Prevention of sudden cardiac expiry by n-three polyunsaturated fatty acids. J Cardiovasc Med . (Hagerstown). 2007; 8 Suppl i:S27-29.
two. Dietary supplementation with n-iii polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin East later myocardial infarction: results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto miocardico. Lancet . 1999; 354:447-55.
three. Yokoyama M, Origasa H, Matsuzaki M, et al. Effects of eicosapentaenoic acid on major coronary events in hypercholesterolaemic patients (JELIS): a randomised open-label, blinded endpoint analysis. Lancet . 2007; 369:1090-98.
4. Willett WC. The role of dietary n-half-dozen fatty acids in the prevention of cardiovascular illness. J Cardiovasc Med . (Hagerstown). 2007; eight Suppl ane:S42-5.
5. Mozaffarian D, Ascherio A, Hu FB, et al. Interplay between different polyunsaturated fatty acids and run a risk of coronary heart disease in men. Circulation. 2005; 111:157-64.
half dozen. Leitzmann MF, Stampfer MJ, Michaud DS, et al. Dietary intake of northward-3 and n-6 fatty acids and the run a risk of prostate cancer. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004; lxxx:204-16.
7. Koralek DO, Peters U, Andriole G, et al. A prospective report of dietary alpha-linolenic acid and the take chances of prostate cancer (United States). Cancer Causes Control. 2006; 17:783-91.
8. Eilander A, Hundscheid DC, Osendarp SJ, Transler C, Zock PL. Effects of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fat acid supplementation on visual and cognitive development throughout childhood: a review of man studies. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fat Acids. 2007; 76:189-203.
9. Oken Due east, Kleinman KP, Berland Nosotros, Simon SR, Rich-Edwards JW, Gillman MW. Reject in fish consumption among pregnant women later a national mercury advisory. Obstet Gynecol . 2003; 102:346-51.
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